| Submit your comments on this article |
| -Short Attention Span Theater- |
| Jim Baen 1943-2006 |
| 2006-06-30 |
| We regret to inform you that publisher Jim Baen passed away on June 28th. He suffered a massive stroke on June 12, 2006 and never woke from it. Jim Baen was a founding partner of Baen Books, one of the largest independent publishers of popular fiction. Since its inception in 1984, Baen evolved to be one of the leading publishers of science fiction and fantasy, and in recent years a leader in electronic publishing and the fight against encrypted books. Jim Baen started his career in publishing in the complaints department of Ace Books. He moved on to Galaxy magazine in 1973, where his editorial acumen turned the magazine into one of the leading short story venues of the day. He returned to Ace under publisher Tom Doherty to run the science fiction line. When Doherty left to found Tor Books, Jim went with him and established its science fiction line, purchasing its first 170 titles. In 1984 a deal with Simon and Schuster/Pocket Books gave Jim a chance to found his own independent company. S&S has distributed Baen Books ever since. Recently, Baen Books has enjoyed a string of New York Times bestsellers by such authors as David Weber, John Ringo and Eric Flint. Jim also personally worked with Jerry Pournelle, David Drake, Larry Niven, Charles Sheffield, Lois McMaster Bujold and many other authors who shaped the field of modern science fiction. In recent years Jim continued to develop a whole new generation of science fiction writers. Jim Baen was a personal and vocal champion of unencrypted ebooks. The Baen Books Webscriptions program is a model in the field, and the discussion board at http://bar.baen.com, “Baen’s Bar,” is an active forum and thriving online community. Jim’s piquant wit and incisive commentary will be sorely missed. Jim is survived by two daughters, Jessica Baen, 29, and Katherine Baen, 14. The surviving partners of Baen and his heirs intend to continue Jim’s legacy of innovative, independent publishing. Longtime Baen Books executive editor Toni Weisskopf will be acting publisher and direct day-to-day operation of the company. Remembrances of Jim’s life will be held at Tri-noc-Con in Raleigh, NC Saturday, July 22 and Lacon IV, the Worldcon, in Los Angeles, CA in August. For a complete obituary please go to author David Drake’s website. I for one am sad to see him go, as Baen has been one of my favorite publishers due to their free library and the entertaining Non-PC books they published. He also worked with many of my favorite authors including Jerry Pournelle, Larry Niven, David Drake, David Weber, etc. Prayers for his family and he will be missed. |
| Posted by:Silentbrick |
| #9 When I went to the grocery store earlier, I picked up a Baen book in his memory: Bolo! by David Weber, continuing Laumer's series. I've enjoyed many other of Baen's authors, not to mention the free library |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2006-06-30 23:44 |
| #8 Schmitziness Yum, me like and I don't have a clue what it means. But it doth have a rhythm. |
| Posted by: 6 2006-06-30 15:35 |
| #7 My favorite SF writer is James H. Schmitz. In the past few years, Baen has published most (all?) of Schmitz's work, which was long out of print. We need more Schmitziness in SF, and I was hoping Baen would give it to us. Hopefully his heirs will carry on the tradition. |
| Posted by: Angie Schultz 2006-06-30 14:08 |
| #6 I've been reading Jim's authors ever since he edited Galaxy magazine - and his imprimature on any book/author was ALWAYS a consideration before I would part with my money. He will be sorely missed, and I don't know of anyone who will be able to step into his shoes. |
| Posted by: Leigh 2006-06-30 12:45 |
| #5 Standing in salute: Alois Hammer Honor Harrington Miles Naismith Vorkosigan Roger MacClintock Raj Whitehall and the Draka |
| Posted by: Chuck Simmins 2006-06-30 11:30 |
| #4 Ringo. |
| Posted by: Oldspook 2006-06-30 11:08 |
| #3 I love Jim Baen and his company. They are the only reliable source of military scifi/fantasy in the publishing world. He will be sorely missed. |
| Posted by: Secret Master 2006-06-30 11:02 |
| #2 His talent overshadowed everyone else in the SF publishing world. It will be a tall order for anyone to fill his shoes. My condolences and sympathy for his family and his many friends. |
| Posted by: DanNY 2006-06-30 10:55 |
| #1 A true loss to scifi publishing and to scifi fans and uthors everywhere. Jim Baen meant a lot of things to a lot of people. To me, personally, Jim Baen meant the chance for a nobody/no name author to hopefully get some of his work finally published (I missed that deadline though). He will be missed. |
| Posted by: FOTSGreg 2006-06-30 10:42 |